Sunday, November 23, 2014

Note to Fracking Protesters

It's getting quite heated in the US. This is seen as a local neighbourhood issue in the quiet countryside, and people are going to jail. But this is not a local issue, people! Fracking itself is scrupulously clean, in fact they are just washing the dirty, oily shale, and carting everything away.

I do not want to dip into horrible US politics, but this is a national issue. They are fracking with water because it is cheaper. If they were fracking with propane then you would have to let them, without protests. The main issue is that the fracking waste is uncontrolled, and zooms across the state border. There, any sleazy operator can do with it what they will. It's in their interest to let it leak on the roads, or inject it into leaky wells. Or go to Oklahoma, where anything goes.

So, you protesters have to raise the cost of using water in fracking. This is done by finding out who is the big guy distributing and refining the product and embarrass them for using 'dirty oil'. After all, this is being done for Canada and the oil sands, and that's nothing compared to the fracking waste.

Sooner or later, Oklahoma is going to have a really big earthquake. That will rattle the whole Midwest. Is it just an OK issue?

*This is my last word on the subject, protester people.

**Final word on the protesting aspect (too much depressing politics), with which I have engaged heavily on g+. As always, I shall continue to make fun of injection earthquakes. :)

Extra reading: “America did not do it right, so let’s do it right here. If we found it was impossible to frack in the UK because, say, there are lots of faults in the rocks, that would come out.”

Additional thought: We went through this 30 years ago in Ontario with toxic waste. Basically, if used engine oil was uncontrolled, it was hauled away in a leaky truck. I remember following one of those on the Trans Canada. :( If it is registered at the source, then they recycle the engine oil. All toxic waste must be registered at the source, and slated for licensed treatment or disposal. My greatest fear is that if a giant earthquake closes OK, then this stuff goes to worse places.

Another final, final word: This is big money. I think the difference between being responsible, and 'wild west' is a million dollars a hole (1 significant digit). The externalities (unpaid cost to society) are ten times that. Forget insecticide, carbon, all that other stuff, this is the issue of the moment. (Fin!)